


My Bifur, My Bofur

by Bofur1



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Exhaustion, Family Dinners, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Problems, R&R, Ur Family Feels, Watching Someone Sleep, Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 18:52:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Bofur1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dramatic Bifur and cheerful Bofur are drifting away, lost to the exhaustion and stress of work; Bombur is determined to get them back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Bifur, My Bofur

Every time Bifur and Bofur came home from the mines each evening, Bombur became increasingly anxious. He hated watching his family slink through the door with limp limbs and eyes glazed with weariness.

Bombur had hinted to them a few times that he was able to work just as well, that maybe he could go and join them at the mines, but they said no immediately.

“Your enthusiasm is appreciated, Bombur, but you’re too young. It was a stretch even for your brother to be hired and he’s five years older than you,” Bifur told Bombur seriously with a tight grip on his shoulder.

“An’ even if ye were accepted,” Bofur chimed in, “Ye don’t recognize th’ danger that’s involved. Ye could get yerself seriously hurt down there!”

Many good arguments to these statements popped into Bombur’s head, but as he stared into Bifur and Bofur’s faces he saw their adamancy—and the underlying fatigue that was too fragile to stand for any stubbornness.

Thus Bombur remained silent, growing more and more unsettled. Each time Bifur and Bofur came home, their heads hung a little lower and when they finally got to the one shared bed they had, they were _so_ tired that they found it hard to sleep.

Huddled on his side of the bed, Bombur tried to hold very still each night, hoping that his family wouldn’t know how their tossing and turning jarred him. When the two miners finally fell asleep, Bombur knew it was safe to slip from bed and pace. Eventually he would stop at the edge of the bed and stare at the two restless forms in the bed. Even their breathing was labored these days...

There had to be something he could do. He couldn’t make their workday any shorter, but perhaps he could be a comfort afterward, a relaxant after a stressful load. Bombur wracked his brain for ideas.

One night, Bifur was making dinner, stirring the pot of soup over the fire. Bombur followed his nose, peering around the corner at his cousin.

“That smells good,” Bombur said hopefully.

Bifur grunted soft acknowledgement, pressing a hand to his forehead to ward off an oncoming headache. Then he was on the floor, passed out from exhaustion.

In a way the incident was a good thing, because as Bombur began his nightly pace the idea came to him. He’d often watched Bifur make dinner; he knew how to cook basic meals.

The next night, the first smile of the week lit Bofur’s face. “Ye made dinner!” he gasped as he stepped into the house.

“You shouldn’t have,” Bifur murmured, though the relief was almost tangible in his voice. “I could’ve...”

“No,” Bombur said firmly as he steered his cousin into a seat. “No, you just relax and eat.”

Each night thereafter dinner was already steaming on the table. Bifur and Bofur were pleasantly surprised as Bombur continued to invent ways of giving the meal flair—a special way of folding the napkins, a surprise candle, but usually it was a new spice or different roast for the food. Soon Bombur had surpassed even Bifur’s skill.

As the simple meals became progressively appetizing, Bombur noticed that his kin’s weary faces seemed to brighten a bit more as they tromped through the door. After three weeks of homely care, Bifur and Bofur were alive in the evening, telling funny stories about their coworkers and waving around dramatically and laughing. And when Bombur crawled into their bed that night, the other two Broadbeams slept deeply and peacefully.

Bombur smiled into the darkness as he nestled close to Bofur’s warm body. _I did it_ , he thought with satisfaction and pride. _My Bifur, my Bofur—I finally brought them back_.

 


End file.
